The History of the Franks (Penguin Classics)

This book is a valuable resource for any Dark Ages historian or anyone seeking good primary source material on early Germanic peoples. It requires, however, that you understand why Gregory writes this work in the first place. Gregory's goal, from what I interpreted, is to distance the Franks from other Germanic tribes such as the Alamanni and the Goths. Gregory lived his entire life under Frankish rule and of course is a bishop, and it would only be natural for him to want to portray the Catholic Franks as more noble or righteous than other tribes. But once you swim through the pro-Frankish bias and the musings about various martyred saints, this book can reveal a great deal about the political and social conditions of Europe immediately after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. I would recommend it to any student seeking to learn more about the early foundations of the Middle Ages.

I first ran across Gregory of Tours years ago in an Early Medieval History course at the University of Houston (Go Haskins Society!). Under the tutelage of a great instructor (Dr. V~) the class read primary texts instead of the usual dry drivel that history teachers resort to. The History of the Franks was one of these. And it's a great book no matter how you approach it. First, if it was not for Gregory's tome we fans of barbarians would have to resort to the rather sketchy coda (or laws) and archaeological data of that era to ascertain what was going on. (Okay there were those dry church records too.) With Gregory of Tours we get sort of an "Examiner" newspaper view of earthly events. For example, about the Bishop Cautinus: Once he had taken possession of his bishopric, Cautinus began to behave so badly that he was soon loathed by everybody. He began to drink heavily. He was often so completely fuddled with wine that it would take four men to carry him from the table. For example, mother-daughter relations: Rigunth, Chilperic's daughter, was always attacking her mother (Fredegund), and saying that she herself was the real mistress, whereas her mother ought to revert to her original rank of serving-woman. She would often insult her mother to her face, and they frequently exchanged slaps and punches. 'Why do you hate me so, daughter?' Fredegund asked her one day. 'You can take all your father's things which are still in my possession, and do what you like with them.' She led the way into a strong-room and opened a chest which was full of jewels and precious ornaments. ... ... Rigunth was stretching her arm into the chest to take out some more things, when her mother suddenly seized the lid and slammed it down on her neck. She leant on it with all her might and the edge of the chest pressed so hard against the girls' throat.... (well you'll have to go to page 521 to see how it turns out - lol.) Five Stars. Interesting and exciting reading - at least for barbarian fans and historians. One should note that there is a great deal of violence so that the book might not be for everyone. Pam T.

I have been very fond of this book for a long time and after repeatedly checking it out from my local college library, I finally decided to buy a copy. I'm not sorry I did. St. Gregory of Tours takes the reader deep into an era about which very little is known. A world where the power of the Roman Empire in the West had crumbled to dust and real power had fallen into the hands of the warlords, some of them Roman, others German Clan Chiefs. But even as the walords sacked and pillaged the provinces of the former Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, with it's hierarchy dominated by the old Roman nobility, continued to function as a check to the chaotic rule of the warlords. The German Clan Chiefs and their families read like the most entertaining parts of Seutonius's Twelve Caesars. Atfer they "conquered" the Roman Empire, the German Royals whiled away their time with depravity, debauchery and greed. Princess Amalasuntha of the Lombards, after her slave boyfriend was murdered on her mother's orders, put poison in her mother's communion cup during the Arian Rite Mass. Princess Clotild, after using mercenaries to sieze control of the Convent of the Holy Cross in Poitiers, proceeded to run it in a manner that makes Charles Manson look like an amateur. One other reviewer compared St. Gregory to a 6th Century gossip columnist. I couldn't agree more. The only beef I have with this book is with the translator. For some reason he chose, when St. Gregory quoted the Holy Scriptures, to write out the quotes as they appear in the King James Bible instead of the Douay-Rheims which is much closer to the original Latin Vulgate that St. Gregory would have quoted from. It may not seem like a big deal but it had me wondering how accurate the Biblical quotes were. Aside from that, this is an utterly enjoyable book that I would recomend strongly for anyone interested in the Dawn of the Middle Ages.

Gregory, Bishop of Tours from 573 to 594, was a member of a prominent Gallo-Roman family of aristocrats, and, like some of his relatives, was eventually canonized. His accounts of holy men, martyrs, and miracles are still extant; a work on liturgy is lost. He is best remembered, however, for a long work (which he called just "Ten Books of History") on how Gaul was conquered by the Franks, and ruled (after a fashion) by their royal dynasty, the Merovingians; with their relationships with neighboring kingdoms. It is commonly known as "The History of the Franks," although modern scholars tend to disapprove of the title. Gregory generally tells us about what involved members of the dynasty and their followers, or the Church, not the Franks in general. The various rival "Kingdoms of the Franks" corresponded very roughly to modern France and western Germany, and Gregory clearly did not have later political units in mind. The Franks were Germanic warriors -- probably from a variety of tribes mentioned by Roman historians -- who entered Roman territory as (at least mainly) pagans. The Burgundians, Ostrogoths and Visigoths, Vandals, and other predecessors, had adopted an archaic form of Christianity much earlier, and had come to be stigmatized as followers of the Arian Heresy when they insisted on following their now-traditional ways. The Franks converted -- at least in name -- directly to Post-Nicene, Trinitarian, Catholic, Orthodoxy. This gave their kings an otherwise inexplicable reputation for piety, if not exactly for virtue. (A Merovingian ruler with only one or two illegitimate children, who refrained from murdering more than a few opponents, and tried to protect his subjects, was widely regarded as a saint.) Gregory, after summarizing the history of the world (Biblical and Christian), focuses on events in the lands of the Franks and their neighbors, eventually reaching his own time, which he reports in considerable, sometimes confusing, and not always reliable, detail. He is a primary source for much of the period. Although sometimes frustrating, he is markedly superior to his immediate (and many not so immediate) successors. As a bishop, he was also an important administrator and judge. He understood practical affairs, and he knew many of the people he describes. A tendency to alleviate the blood-stained darkness with miracle stories is understandable. Given the intellectual assumptions inherited from late antiquity, they do not mark Gregory as particularly gullible or superstitious. One does miss the Venerable Bede's moderation in such matters. (And if you are interested in "Dark Age" Europe, but have not yet read Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English," try either the Penguin Classics or Oxford World's Classics translation.) Gregory's world is the reality behind some later medieval literature, He describes the age of Beowulf (literally; King Hygelac's raid on Frankish-allied Frisia is reported in one chapter). With its royal feuds, pu

Gregory of Tours wrote the History of the Franks because he was one of the few people who could write. He was afraid that if no one wrote down who the kings of the Franks were, people would forget. He was right. In a rather junior-high-like style he tells what happened after Clovis invaded Gaul, and founded France. Gregory had a front row seat - his dad was a Roman Senator and he was a Bishop. It's a really interesting book about three generations of leaders after Clovis (generations didn't last very long among the barbarians). This is a really interesting book that's easy to read, and presents an interesting Medieval view of the world.